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EDWARDSVILLE - Many community heroes have emerged during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but two who rate high in the group are Hayley Hipp and Jessica Hoelter. The two are close friends and have known each other since their Edwardsville High School days.
Their fund-raiser - “Feeding the Staff of Edwardsville Care Center” - is a success and they have been providing food daily for workers who have decided to self-quarantine at the facility. The Edwardsville Care Center has had the highest total of COVID-19 cases in the county of any facility.
“As a way to thank the staff of Edwardsville Care Center for their bravery as they continue to show up to work every shift, we are ordering them meals from local restaurants from within Madison County,” the two said. “This allows the fundraiser to also benefit the community on a larger scale. On a day-to-day basis, their staff ranges from approximately 20-30 people working. We are in contact with some of them to ensure we are providing enough food for the whole staff to have restaurant food once daily. We hope to support as many local businesses as possible, in the process.”
The pair posts pictures daily of the meals they are all helping to provide to the staff. Most of the restaurants have provided special pricing and the two plan regularly to give those restaurants unsolicited shout-outs on their Facebook page for their generosity.
Neither of the organizers, Hipp or Hoelter, works for ECC, but both are passionate about helping the local community and believe that these workers are "truly incredible.”
When IDPH posted the stats from ECC, we had the information validated that day and started on this project," the two said.
Haley and Jessica emphasized that neither of the organizers is financially benefitting from this fundraiser and both are working diligently to help this fundraiser operate smoothly.
“Payments are set up to go to one of the organizers, who then prepay each restaurant for their services and will be reimbursed by this fundraiser once funds are cleared for release, (5-10 days after donation, according to Facebook terms and conditions),” the two said. “Neither of the organizers are liable for any of the food provided to the staff. As organizers, we are acting in good faith as we select local restaurants and have the food delivered to the staff. All food comes from local restaurants and is delivered in a no-contact manner at a scheduled time by delivery services, by one of the organizers or by volunteers.”
Hayley and Jessica said the long-term intention is to feed the staff of ECC until they are clear of all COVID-19 cases, but for now, “we are taking it one day at a time. If you are a restaurant and want to be involved, please message the organizers directly through the Facebook fundraiser page.
There are two methods to give, both listed below.
https://www.facebook.com/donate/249788373054992/?fundraiser_source=external_url
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8oDRbnif4l
